It was impressive to see the countless hours of technician study and practice put to the test by Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) during our recently held National Skills Competition.

The annual event held at TMHA’s Training and Development Centre in Moorebank, New South Wales saw 160 forklift technicians and apprentices from across the TMHA national branch network complete two online exams – the first whittling the field to 68 and the second determining 15 finalists.

Six apprentices and nine technicians then put their knowledge and ability on display over two days of theory- and practical-based exercises covering TMHA’s Toyota, BT and Raymond brands of forklifts and warehouse equipment.

The National Skills Competition is important on a number of levels. Not only is it an investment in the skills of our technicians and apprentices, it helps ensure they have a high level of product knowledge and the abilities required to remain at the forefront of industry standards.

Conducting the skills contest provides real benefits. It has been proven to support high customer satisfaction rates thanks to less downtime and increased efficiency for all our business partners.

This year’s TMHA National Skills Competition also coincided with TMHA celebrating 50 years of forklift sales in Australia so it was a particularly special event. Toyota sold its first forklift in this country in 1968, and now holds almost 40 per cent of the Australian market, and the number one position for overall forklift sales in Australia.

This year, nine technicians specialised in one of three brands – Toyota, Raymond and BT – for the practical component and also sat an exam covering all three brands to determine the overall Master Technician.

The Master Technician of the Year award for 2018 was won by TMHA Brisbane’s Luke Kuschert after also winning 2018 National Technician of the Year award for Raymond products. Luke was also crowned Master Technician of the Year in 2016 and 2016 National Technician of the Year for BT products.

Meanwhile, at TMHA’s National Sales and Service Awards, our Melbourne branch was a major winner – named as Metropolitan (Tier 1) Branch of the Year award.

Our top Regional (Tier 2) was won by the team from our Launceston branch, and reflected a very deserving win.

The National Sales and Service Awards highlighted Toyota Material Handling Australia's continual dedication and service to business partners and customers.

At a gala dinner, the winning branches were congratulated on their solid performances in a competitive and strong year for the brand, nationally, and the results reflected the growth and confidence from the entire TMHA network – highlighting the importance of the customer experience in TMHA's complete service offering.

It was a pleasure seeing many deserving winners. The very close competition between branches was a clear indication that TMHA’s determination to remain in a strong number-one position is driven from within.